El Clásico Preview: FC Barcelona v Real Madrid El Clásico

The whole world will once again stop to watch this Sunday’s La Liga clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Sunday, according to Madrid boss Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho told French sports channel BeInSport, that nobody, not the players and coaches, nor the expected 400 million strong worldwide TV audience for Sunday’s game, had got bored of the rivalry.

“Madrid-Barca is a game we love to play,” Mourinho said. “For us, and for sure, for them too. In this sense, a Clasico is a bit more than another normal game in La Liga. For football lovers the world stops when there is a Barcelona-Madrid. There were more viewers for the last Spanish Supercopa than for many games in the Champions League.”

Despite the inevitable wider significance of the game, Mourinho said that his side – currently eight points behind Barcelona in the Primera Division standings – were most worried about securing the three points on offer.

“Our objective is to win the championship,” he said. “The Clasico is only three points. This game on Sunday is a league game between two direct rivals who know that if they get three points their opponent does not.”

The Portuguese coach said his team would be up for the match, although he is concerned by their attitude in less high profile games so far this season.

“Last season this team was not a champion and this year it is the defending champion,” he said. “My team has begun the season a little bit living with the prestige and status of being champions. If you play at your best in the Supercopa and the Champions League, why do you not play your best in La Liga? You do not play your best because you won last season? No!”